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LAS VEGAS COUNCILMAN MADE A BAD BET

Posted on Mar 12, 2018 11:30am PDT

Former Las Vegas City Councilman Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud

A former Las Vegas City Councilman pleaded guilty to orchestrating a scheme
to steal tens of thousands of dollars from his reelection campaign, announced
Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s
Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dayle Elieson of the District of Nevada
and Special Agent in Charge Aaron C. Rouse of the FBI’s Las Vegas
Field Office.

Ricki Barlow, 46, of Las Vegas, Nevada, pleaded guilty to one count of
wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon of the District
of Nevada. Sentencing is set for May 31.

“Rather than serving the community he was elected to represent, Ricki
Barlow abused his position of trust and concocted a scheme to line his
own pockets,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Cronan. “Corruption
at any level of the government harms the community by undermining the
public’s confidence in their elected leaders and government. Because
the effects of corruption are so corrosive, the Justice Department and
our law enforcement partners are committed to vigorously investigating
and prosecuting official corruption wherever it exists.”

“No one, including elected officials, is above the law,” said
U.S. Attorney Elieson. “The defendant violated his oath of office
and the public’s trust for his personal gain. The U.S. Attorney’s
Office is committed to protecting the community and to the vigorous prosecution
of all who seek to personally enrich themselves at the public’s
expense.”

“The public trust must be something that is cherished by all who
serve in positions of public office,” said Special Agent in Charge
Rouse. “Sadly, Mr. Barlow abused his position for personal gain.
The FBI will continue to root out public corruption where it exists. If
you are in the community and are aware of an elected or appointed official
engaging in illegal conduct, I encourage you to notify the FBI or U.S.
Attorney’s Office.”

According to admissions made in connection with his guilty plea, Barlow
was a candidate for re-election to the Las Vegas City Council in 2015,
for which Barlow solicited donations from members of the Las Vegas community
to his campaign, Ricki Barlow for City Council. According to Barlow’s
admissions, the campaign treasurer managed the campaign finances through
a bank account independent of Barlow, but Barlow maintained ultimate authority
over the spending of campaign funds, including how much to pay campaign
vendors. In order to secretly divert campaign funds to himself, Barlow
admitted to orchestrating a kickback scheme whereby he hired friends and
associates to work as campaign vendors, submit inflated invoices at his
direction, and then kick back to Barlow approximately half of their campaign
paychecks, typically in the form of cash. Barlow admitted to secretly
diverting $49,125 in campaign funds for his own personal use and benefit
through the kickback scheme.

Barlow also admitted to accepting an additional $17,000 in cash campaign
contributions that he never reported to his campaign treasurer or transmitted
to the campaign. Instead, Barlow admitted that he diverted the campaign
contributions for his own personal use.

To conceal the scheme to steal campaign funds, Barlow admitted to causing
his campaign to submit false campaign finance reports to the Nevada Secretary of State.

The FBI investigated the case. Trial Attorney Ryan J. Ellersick of the
Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S.
Attorney Daniel R. Schiess of the District of Nevada are prosecuting the case.